With just 10 days to go, I have not heard from many properties regarding their April 22 Earth Day activities. As published on Green Lodging News on April 5, 1 Hotels is celebrating Earth Month with a series of brand and property offerings that honor the beauty of the natural world, promote environmental unity, and encourage individuals to take small steps towards sustainability. For the month of April, all eight carbon-neutral properties in North America have launched activities and initiatives that promote a more collective effort towards protecting our planet. In one example, in partnership with a local vendor and charitable organization, each property will host a dinner to highlight the fresh and delicious offerings available to the local community. 1 Kitchen at 1 Hotel Nashville will host a special extended weekend Earth Day Supper That Sustains Us, showcasing seasonal produce from their partners at Bloomsbury Farm and dishes curated by Culinary Director Chris Crary.
I just heard from St Julien Hotel & Spa, a four-star, four-diamond hotel in Boulder, Colo. In the last year, it hired Tim Barton as the Sustainability Coordinator for the property. It is his job to ensure St Julien is meeting its environmental goals and to lead the newly reformed Green Team in an effort to reduce the hotel’s footprint on the community.
In honor of Earth Day, St Julien announced its goals for the coming year:
- Reduce landfill weight by 20 percent compared to 2022 weight;
- Decrease energy usage by 5 percent;
- Decrease gas usage by 5 percent; and
- Host 10 sustainability related events that extend from the hotel to the Boulder community, such as fully vegan community dinners at St Julien’s on-site restaurant, Jill’s, Bike to Work Day, EcoCycle tours, Boulder Creek clean-ups, participating in America Recycles Day on Wednesday, November 15, and more.
With the hiring of Barton in August 2022, the hotel has already seen an average increase of recycling by nearly 2,900 pounds per month for an average monthly recycling weight of more than 13,000 pounds.
There is still plenty of time to share your Earth Day news with Green Lodging News. I would love to learn what you have planned. I can be reached at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.